This month our automatic compiler server for linux builds got updated from Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise) to 14.04 LTS (Trusty), so Sphere linux builds now will be compiled under this linux version.

Usually in most cases this won't cause any drawback for users, but anyway if you get any compatibility problem on new Sphere builds, just take a few minutes to update your linux packages used by Sphere, this should be enough to keep Sphere running without problems.

Very shortly, I will have to update the php version of the site from php5 to php7. This is causing some issues with some of the sites code so bare with me while I fix it. It is possible that some pages will not be available during that time.

Some might have already noticed that old sphere server versions are now available directly in our downloads section instead of having people looking everywhere to find them. This does not mean that we can or will fix bugs in them. Development will only continue from the latest version.

That said, the nightly site will no longer be used. We have arranged to have the automated repo builds go directly into the downloads section of this site. These builds are not updated nightly, but will be updated every time a change is made to the repo within a few minutes.

-What's the difference between 0.56b and 0.56c?
As you can see on changelog, there's many hundreds of changes. Sphere still the same as always, but now much more stable, fast, optimized, and supporting new functions and new UO expansions up to Time of Legends (TOL).

-What's the difference between 0.56c and 0.56d?
There's no difference, we just released the final version of 0.56c and started 0.56d development using all current files as it is.
0.56c won't receive more updates and all newest updates now goes to 0.56d builds.

-What's the difference between Nightly and Pre-release builds?
There's no difference, Pre-release builds are just Nightly builds which got renamed when reach the final version.
So if you're already using 0.56c nightlies, you can update it to 0.56c Pre-Release without problems. Or if you prefer, you can jump directly to 0.56d nightlies to continue receiving all the newest changes.

-I'm using an old 0.56b build from years ago. I can update it to 0.56c?
Yes, the coding style is the same, so you can still using your current scripts and save files. But it's highly recommended update the script pack too, otherwise you will have many problems and strange behaviors. This is not an simple copy/paste work (unless you want overwrite your scripts with the default ones), so it will take some hours/days/weeks depending on your server customization.